Horns
by Legionstone
Summary: An newborn of the Mordheim empire is abandoned by his parents, so begins the life of Mazakak: The Horned Reaver
1. Prologue

**Horns**

 **Prolouge: Call of the Beastmen**

The lights of the village were blooming when dusk came to the destitute hovel, peasants slogged back to their straw-hewn cottages, their bones ached from the tilling of their noble-owned farms, being embraced by the warm heath that their fires and families can provide.

The families of the village were able to find a time of bliss in their never-ending tasks of tending large fields of growing crops.

When the sun goes down and the house fires are lit, it was almost second nature to have supper ready, it was bland yes, it was light as well, but it was a family dinner for each family nonetheless, having so little can make such a small treasure be cherished so much.

It was going to be a peaceful and harmless night, a dusk of mild merriment and cold calm.

That is until, the village heard the call.

A surge of warhorns, bestial roars and pained screams were heard far away from the village, deep within the forests around the state of Mordheim, where this village takes hold in.

The village's murmurs of relaxation were instantly turned to a ghostly hallow, the torches and fires began to shift around each other as the villagers brought themselves together in the crossroads of the town, torches in hand, the peasants began to discuss amongst themselves for they all know what was heard.

It was the call of the Beastmen.

The land of Mordheim, was a temperate land surrounded by the black-tail mountains, a massive mountain range that isolated the human empire state from the rest of the world.

Humans of Mordheim never experienced the savage tide of Greenskins that plagues the world with violence and suffering, nor have they experienced the greed of the dwarven kingdoms and their petty desire for glittering gold.

They have never experienced such folly, the only horror that they must face were the Beastmen that hid in the many dimmed forests of Mordheim.

No one in Mordheim knows the origins of the Beastmen.

Priests and chaplains believed that they were once humans that were cursed because of their apparent sin. Mages and court wizards believe that were the result of arcane mutations and experiments, and the common folk believed that they are living nightmares come to life.

No matter where they came from or how they were born into this world, the presence of the vile Beastmen are constant throughout the land.

It's not too hard to distinguish a Beastmen compared to a normal man, usually standing two feet taller than a normal human, they bear the head and legs of various animals, the most common are usually the heads of cattle or goats, furred snouts and massive hooves.

Some have been seen with traits of other animals as well, some bear the lower body of a horse while some had mouth that were akin to raven beaks, their overall body, however, is noticeably Humanoid, with the chest and arms resembling that of a Man.

They are capable of walking in an upright posture, but some have been known to walk on all fours. Their matted hair is encrusted with blood and dung, a haven for fat ticks and colonies of fleas that keep the Beastmen in a constant state of agitation. Due to their harsh living, a Beastmen is also naturally strong and well-muscled.

The villagers began to panic as they heard the roars and screams became more pronounced, indicating that they were going to raid this village and destroy everything, it was the way of the Beastmen, they do not know of civility, they do not know of order, they only desire the destruction of men.

The villager's petty squabbling only rewarded them a sour death, slow was there way to deal with danger as the Beastmen came into the village in lightning speed, roaring and growling as the villagers began to wail in terror as they scrambled to run away.

The thumping of the Beastmen's hooves ranged like a full-round of handcannons as they destroyed everything in their path, breaking down cottages and cleaving peasants into pieces with their crude blades and axes, blood was spilled and chilling screams was heard.

It took a long time to create a small village like that, and only in an instant, it was all erased from memory, there was no survivors, they were outrunned, outnumbered and outmatched, the Beastmen roared in victorious glee, enjoying their spoils of their raid.

The Call of the Beastmen were heard and they will do stop at nothing for the destruction of all of Mordheim.


	2. Chapter 1: Birth of the Reaver

**Horns**

 **Chapter 1: Birth of the Reaver**

Bordeleaux was a rather wealthy city in the country of Mordheim.

It was ruled by an affluent noble family, The Cadreths were their name. They garnered a decent family history because of the fur trade, being able to hoard large mounds of gold coins due to their place as the first family to tan and boil fur into leather, a more well-used commodity than iron, both in terms of armor and clothes.

While rich in wealth, Bordeleaux was relatively small to the capital of Mordheim: Falconreach, only housing a thousand denizens at most, it could be due to the big massive stone walls that blockade the city from the outside world, with the only entrance into the gilded city being four gateways that were located on each side of the city.

With several dozen archers patrolling the top of the walls, armed with crossbows with razor-tipped bolts, it looked akin to a cage, a splendor and gilded cage, but a cage nonetheless.

The city main streets were lively yet lively, the warm sun beaming over the cobblestone-paved roads as peasants were going about on their daily jobs and errands of simple manual labor, ranging from the common produce merchant to the obscure gravediggers and mortician, not that the latter wasn't needed as much, food was plentiful because of farms and trade, the streets of the city lacked the common diseased-ridden pests due to daily cleans from volunteers.

The City Sqaure was a massive hub for merchant and citizen duties and jobs, the merchants constantly tried to barter and show off their many wares while the citizen would do trade with the gold that they had from their small yet helpful jobs.

"Blimberry Potion! Poultice of Millweed! Only for a mere four gold each! Heal all of your pains and sores by just applying my freshly-made poultices!" One apothecary called out as she held a small jar containing the mush of medicinal herbs.

"Swords made of the finest steel! Protect yourself from a goblin or a brigand anywhere in Mordheim with my wares!" A weapon vendor chimed as his swords and axes that he offered were primed and ready for use.

"Leg of plump goats! Unplucked pheasants! Only two gold for a delicious meal for you and your family!" A rather portly butcher said as he swung a raw leg of goat, droplets of blood staining the butcher's stand and clothes, deterring potential buyers away.

Despite the vendor's rambunctious advertising, most of the peasants and citizens of Bordeleaux had their attention more on the marching regiment of city guards, with the town crier being escorted to the true center of the merchant bazaar. The heart of the city, where any news may it be mournful or joyous can spread like a forest fire.

"Hear Ye'! Hear Ye'!" One of the many city criers howled, swinging a bell up and down to garner more unattended ears.

"The village of Bowserstone has been razed by the wicked Beastmen! There was no survivors from the Beastmen's cruelty! But do not fret! The city of Bordeleaux is safe from these cloven demons! The call of the beastmen will be silenced by the blade of Mordheim!"

The citizens that heard the crier over the merchant's promises were frightened from such unfiltered and unchained words, a whole village filled with innocent men, women, and children were slaughtered and maimed by the savage beastmen, not even the crier's hollow promises of safety didn't deter their fright.

* * *

While the citizens of Bordeleaux were muttering amongst each other like a flock of chickens, fearing for their well-being. the nobles and their knights were in a private meeting, discussing the eruption of Beastmen in their land.

One individual stood out amongst the pampered nobles and hardened knights, his armor and cloak being equivalent to a grand gallant of golden colors and silk as it was over his silver-plated armor, his name was Urien De'Cadreth, current lord of Bordeleaux and the war general to the king of Mordheim himself, also, head of the Cadreth family who controls this city with scrupulous authority.

Urien grumbled to himself as in the center of the meeting of knights and nobles was a map display all of the cities and provinces in the land of Mordheim, with the ruined village of Bowerstone at the bottom of the map with the city of Bordeleaux near the top of the map with other cities surrounding it, bright fortresses that were away from the arriving Beastmen emerging from the damp and dark forests of the south.

"We have to stop the Beastmen before they attack the next village...Sir Renaud, send a hundred of your best men down to Oakvale...Protect that village with all of your might." Urien De'Cadreth asked of the Knight, he nodded in response in silence. Not a single noble or knight argued against Urien, it frustrated the man, for he had no true clue on what he was doing.

Urien was a fine knight in battle and in a fair game of joust, but he was no strategist or general, he was used to being on the battlefield, rather than a castle with a scouting map, it made him restless and yet no one else wanted to take the position.

It was most likely due to the fact that the king was his father and nothing more.

"If we win this defense against those savage animals, then, we can truly stomp out this corruption!" Urien De'Cadreth, earning a rallying agreement from the rest of the Nobles and Knight-Captains.

* * *

Oakvale was well aware of the attack of Bowserstone, seeing the massive smoke stacks was a clear sign of the danger that was going to come, they prepared even before Sir Renaud's men came on their armored horses.

Walls of wood that was made out of the wood of doors, unused firewood and tables surrounded the small village, providing the village with some form of safeguard from the horned beasts that were itching for more destruction.

Outside of the shoddily-put walls of the reinforcing village was a pair of two peasants, well, three, if you count the newborn that the mother was holding around her arms, their gait was quick and full of untrained guile, they went into the forest, knowing the new threat that lingers within the leafy chasm.

The married couple were wordless as they traveled deeper and deeper into the forest, their footsteps being muffled by fallen leafs and mossy grass, the only sound came from the baby, cooing for his mother's attention.

The couple managed to find a lone stump within the forest, with slow and careful hands, they set their child on the tree stump, uncovering the baby boy's shawl from its face and letting the newborn feel the cold air for the first time in its life.

Horns, it's forehead had a pair of small stumpy horns protruding out of the newborn, the Married couple both silently cried as they knew what they must do.

Tears rolled down their eyes as they heard a sound of trotting cloves coming towards them.

A Cloven one came to the couple, snarling and bearing its teeth in disgust at the mere sight of a human, let alone two of them, it was standing over seven feet tall, it's veiny and scar-ridden skin was covered in blood-red rags and in one hand was a knife made of stone and wood.

The Human couple took a step back as the Hooded Beastmen laid a hand on the now-crying newborn, inquisitively prodding one of the baby's horns with a finger. The Hooded Beastmen growled loudly before it began to speak in human tongue, clearly hating himself for the usage of it.

 **"Deal...Is Deal...His life...For your lives..."** The Beastmen said through grunts and growls, the Married couple only nodded in return, fearing the blade that the Cloven one wielded.

Suddenly, the Hooded Beastmen grabbed ahold of the child with a slow and surprisingly gentle grasp holding the boy close to its chest. The peasant couple stared at the Cloven one as it slowly walked away from the couple, almost as if this was a mere transaction of goods, rather than the abandonment of a child.

"He's in a better place now...Where he won't be killed by our neighbors and friends..." The Husband tried to console his weeping wife as she embraced him strongly.


End file.
